


Killian's Chronicles

by queien



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: 4e/3.5 custom ruleset, Gen, NPC analysis of party actions, first-person narrator, setting based on The Green Races campaign setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-07-15 04:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7208600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queien/pseuds/queien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While out on a task as part of his training, Killian finds himself face to face with a dragon. Captured, he finds himself nothing more than a bodyguard for this creature. However, one adventuring party overpowers the dragon, and Killian's fate is suddenly in their hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I traveled northeast, deeper into the Whitefire Mountains and into the heart of fire giant territory. The lands here were cold and treacherous, but I was determined to find and raid one of the old Dwarven ruined that I knew were scattered through the area. It would be dangerous. These ancient caverns have been claimed by the giants, and it was more than likely that I'd have to kill one. This task of mine wasn't some whim, however. I needed to prove myself as a warrior to become one of the Scurria, as I had always dreamed. 

My spider mount was well adjusted to the cold, but it eventually started to slow as we climbed higher and the snow grew thicker. I knew I would eventually be forced to stop and find shelter where the two of us could warm ourselves. It was then that I saw a cave ahead. I directed my spider toward the opening and then dismounted and led it inside. I walked slowly, looking around for any sign of danger, but all seemed clear. Anyway, the cave entrance had been too low for any giants to have wandered in. The thought crossed my mind briefly that there may be a dragon or similar creature lurking within, but I dismissed that as well. If there were a dragon in here, it would have to be young and weak. I doubted I had anything to worry about, and felt myself relax and my hand drifted away from where it twitched expectantly by my hand crossbow.

A few hundred feet into the cave, the tunnel suddenly widened and the walls smoothed. Tall pillars hewn from the cavern itself rose ominously in the air. Before me stood a wide and dusty set of double doors, one sealed shut and the other knocked askew from its hinges. I had stumbled upon one of the Dwarven ruins I had sought. 

I sent my spider ahead of me and then followed behind it. The room behind the double doors was large and spacious. The statues decorating this great hall had collapsed with the passage of time, and a layer of dust coated most everything. The only thing that seemed to have been unaffected was a fountain bubbling clear water in the center of the room. I approached and knelt at the side of it, dipping my hands into the water. It felt cold enough that it should be frozen, but it wasn't. I cupped my hands in the liquid and scooped up water to drink. It was clean and refreshing, too much so to be any normal water. I knew then that I had stumbled upon some sort of magical fountain. It made sense. The Dwarves were known for their craftsmanship with magical items.

I slid my pack from my back and started to make a camp for myself in this place. There were doors leading onward, deeper into the ruins. However, I was well aware of the magics that the Dwarves had left behind, and if no giants or other creatures had been by to disturb the spells and traps left behind, I knew that I would want to be well rested before adventuring onward and triggering these things myself.

I settled into my bedroll beside the fountain and set my loaded hand crossbow beside me within easy reach. I then instructed my mount to keep watch before allowing myself to drift off to sleep.

I was awakened by my mount some time later, and I snatched up my crossbow and aimed at the open entryway door. Something moved beyond it. This something had heavy foot steps, and I heard claws clink and scrape across the stone. 

I was crouched, poised and ready to strike the moment this beast came into view. My breathing was shallow and shaky, and my pulse raised in my ears.

What appeared was a small white dragon, no bigger than a large dog. I snorted and lowered my crossbow. “You could have handled that yourself,” I muttered to my spider. “Something like that wouldn't be anything more than a snack to you.” The dragon looked in our direction and spread its wings in what I assumed was supposed to be a menacing gesture. I raised my crossbow again and fired a bolt, quickly reloading my weapon before the first shot had even struck. The missile bounced harmlessly off the creature's thick scales, and the dragon let loose a roar before it charged.

I swore and fired off another bolt before dodging to hide behind the fountain. My spider scurried off in the other direction, hoping to keep the beast's attention on just one of us so the other could attack it from the rear. Predictably, the dragon honed in on me, the smaller of us. It took a deep breath, and on the exhale, an icy gust of wind buffeted me. I raised my arms and staggered backward. Frost clung to my clothes, and I gasped as the heat was sucked from my body. Something was very wrong. This was not the breath of a young dragon. 

I was certain I might easily have been killed by the cold if its breath hadn't abruptly halted. I fell to my knees and looked up to see my spider grappling with the tiny dragon. My spider attempted to bite the dragon, but found that its fangs couldn't penetrate its hide. The dragon clawed and bit at the tarantula that towered over it, but it couldn't break through my mount's hard carapace. 

My numb fingers struggled to load another bolt in my crossbow, but my shivering made this task nearly impossible. Eventually, I tossed the weapon to the side and drew my rapier instead. As I approached, the dragon let loose another blast of cold, and my spider flinched away from the chilled air and ran.

I charged the dragon then as best I could with my sword out and ready. The dragon turned to face my and slashed at me with its claws, tearing through my thick, winter clothing and rending my flesh. I staggered, weapon dropping from my hand, and collapsed.

When I next awoke, I was laying in my bedroll and shivering violently – from cold or fever or both. I felt a puff of cool wind on my face and peeled open my eyelids to see the dragon's face just inches from my own. It pulled its head back as soon as it had gotten this proof that I was indeed awake and curled in on itself by my side. “My name is BoneSigh,” it said in the Bronzeman language. Its voice was high and squeaky, even for a young dragon. “If you survive this, I'll keep you. You fight well. I could have some use for you as a protector.” 

I felt too weak to remain conscious, and closed my eyes once more. As I drifted back into a dark oblivion, I thought to myself how it might be best if I just died.

When I next woke up, my wounds had begun to close and my chills had subsided. I was unfortunately going to survive.


	2. Chapter 2

Once I had recovered, BoneSigh did has he had claimed he would. He took me through the door in the back of the room, which led to a huge chamber piled high with treasure. A heavy metal collar was placed about my neck, and although the chain was long enough for me to walk as far as the pool of water in the other room, I could go no further than that.

My mount was kept in another room that was connected to the chamber I was held in. The door between our two rooms was locked, and the chain on my neck wasn't long enough for me to reach the second door that led into it from the main hall. I wasn't allowed to see it, and it, too, was kept as a guard. BoneSigh was self conscious of his tiny frame and thus would often have me lock the door that led into the treasure room where he and I lived, forcing the intruder to enter the room where my spider lay in wait. All who entered that room perished, but at least it meant that my mount was kept well fed.

I only knew that BoneSigh was self conscious of his size during one of our conversations. There wasn't much to do hidden away on this mountain top, and after a while, he started to talk to me and share with me stories of his life.

He told me that he was part of a special breeding project in Pontia long, long ago. They sought to create dragon mounts that were roughly the size of horses to ride in to battle. Once they realized that the mounts they had made weren't quite as easy to control as they had predicted, the whole lot of them had been destroyed. BoneSigh had been the only survivor, and had holed himself away on this mountain top, safe in this cave where only he was big enough to enter. At first, giants and other dragons had attacked him, but as he grew older and more powerful, he soon could hold his own against most other creatures that lived nearby, but new ones were always moving in, and it was growing tiring to have to show that he wasn't some pathetic baby, but a powerful dragon likely older than they were.

I didn't feel much pity for him.

He asked me about my own life, and even though I didn't want to share, I told him stories about how I'd met my spider. I told him of my life in the military and my training toward becoming a Scurria. During our countless years together, he listened with great interest as I told him of my world; however, he didn't seem to have much pity for me either, as he kept that chain secured tight around my neck.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a commotion outside the treasure room, coming from the great hall. I could hear voices – several voices. Before BoneSigh could instruct me to, I picked up the key and went to lock the doors that connected this room to the great hall and waited.

Soon, sounds of combat came from the room that housed my spider. The fighting lasted longer than normal, however, but soon, silence came once more. I looked at BoneSigh, and when he gave the nod, I stood and went back toward the doors to unlock them. Before I could reach them, however, I heard a scraping sound. The lock on the room that held my spider was being picked.

BoneSigh rushed over to me and produced the key to the chain at my neck. “Fight with me,” he ordered as the collar clattered to the floor. “They should be weakened from the combat with your spider. Pick off the weakest and I'll kill those who still have fight left in them.”

I nodded and loaded my crossbow as I walked to a location that seemed ideal to make my attacks from. BoneSigh had let me keep my weapons. After all, they had proven to be ineffective against him, and I was meant to be his guard.

There was a deep crevasse on one side of the room, opposite where BoneSigh kept his treasure. I walked to it and cast Darkness about it, cloaking the area in a shroud that not just anyone would be able to see into. If anyone engaged me in melee, it wouldn't be too difficult to knock them into the hole.

I turned back toward the door just as it opened and saw the group that had slain my beloved mount.

There were five of them total. The first to enter the room was tall and slender, her skin seemingly painted in two hues of purple. She was clothed in long, flowing robes, and a massive axe was strapped to her back, although I'm not sure how her seemingly frail form managed to support it. This one was followed closely by two in heavy armor. The first was a Dwarf covered in heavy plate and wielding a battle axe. The second was taller and wearing strangely piecemealed armor. Leather covered the torso, but the arms and head were covered by red scale. This one clutched a warhammer, already drawn. I assumed that this one and the first were both Bronzemen. A third, scrawny Bronzeman followed behind the lot. Completely androgynous, this one was garbed in dark cloth that obscured the face. The last in the room was a High Elf woman with two swords at her sides. 

I hadn't been expecting such numbers. I wondered how many of them had fallen to my spider in the other room. 

BoneSigh growled and let loose a burst of icy air from his maw. I took that as a sign to start my own assault. Stepping into the darkness I'd cast, I cloaked myself in magical shadows. I stood perched on the edge of the precipice and watched for an opening. I waited for BoneSigh’s breath to fade, ready to pick off any stragglers. After all, his breath had incapacitated me, and I was a powerful warrior. These people looked weak and foolish. Their numbers seemed to be the only thing that had gotten them this far. 

The blizzard pouring from BoneSigh's throat subsided, and I was shocked to see that all of them still stood. Rime coated their armor and weapons, but they all stood battle ready. The Elf, Dwarf, and red-scaled Bronzeman charged to engage in the melee. I loosed a bolt that struck the charging Bronzeman in the shoulder, but the blow didn't so much as slow the rush. No matter. It was coated in venom. It wouldn't be much longer until his body started to fail him. I reloaded and took aim at the Dwarf. 

While those three skirmished with BoneSigh, the other two kept their distance. The tall one with the axe had drawn her weapon and was using it to fire powerful blasts of light and electricity through the blue crystal nestled between the twin blades. The other had a strange tome open in one hand. The other was raised, arm waving through the air as fire shot forth, arcing the distance between them and the dragon. 

I fired a second bolt, but this bounced off the armor of the Dwarf. I swore and reloaded. His armor was too thick, so BoneSigh would have to kill him instead. 

The one in the piecemeal armor turned then, and from his mouth poured a spray of corrosive liquid. I paused a moment then, studying that person closer. Now, I could see that the armor wasn’t piecemealed together. Instead, this person wore leather armor on top of a body covered in red scales instead of flesh. What I thought was a decorative helmet was actually a protruding muzzle with long tendrils of fused scales sprouting from the back of its skull. That was no Bronzeman. I glanced at the two magic users and wondered briefly if they were truly Bronzemen or not. They didn’t look like any I had ever seen before, and the power they wielded was something I would’ve expected from an Elf or a Dwarf.

I took another shot at the scaled creature, and my bolt struck true. He crumpled to the ground before BoneSigh. I readied another shot and took aim at the Elf. She had two weapons drawn and fought viciously with them as a pair. I shot at her just as BoneSigh fired his breath a second time. The bolt was knocked wide from the gust, missing my target. I reloaded as I waited for the breath to clear. 

Somehow, three of them remained standing. The two spell casters looked fatigued but were still up, and the Elf was growing battered but was still able to fight. The Dwarf staggered and fell as the breath cleared. I took aim at the Elf just as the humanoid Dragon got back to his feet. I hesitated then and watched. The Elf’s wounds as well seemed to fade, and her vigor returned. They had a healer in their ranks. The Dwarf, too, climbed back to his feet, and the two in back recovered from the two icy breaths they’d endured.

I lowered my crossbow and watched. I could see now that BoneSigh seemed to be having some trouble with these intruders. He was weakening quickly, his attacks becoming more and more desperate with every blow. I realized then that I could get out of here if BoneSigh were to be killed by these people. My own weapons were no good against BoneSigh’s thick scales, so there was nothing I could do to aid them. However, even though I couldn’t aid them, I could choose to no longer hinder them. I continued to fire, but my bolts went wide on purpose, striking the walls instead. Eventually, BoneSigh weakened. His breaths were little more than puffs of ice that only struck the three closest to him, and he barely had the strength to lash out with a bite or a claw. 

The tall one with the axe then ran forward and leapt into the air. Ethereal wings briefly sprouted from her back as she flew through the air and buried her axe into BoneSigh’s throat. BoneSigh gasped, choked, and fell to the ground, slain. The battle was over.


	4. Chapter 4

My breath caught in my throat. I kept my crossbow loaded and stayed crouched in the shadows I’d created, watching the five strangers and waiting for a chance to make a run for it. 

The five of them took a moment to examine each other’s wounds, and the scaled one healed those who were still injured. The scrawny androgynous one received healing and then immediately went over to BoneSigh’s corpse and began to drain the blood from it.

“So, what are we going to do about the Drow in the darkness over there?” the scaled one asked in Bronzeman, although the words were heavily accented. I could tell now from the high voice that this person wasn’t a man as I’d assumed, but was instead a woman.

“What Drow?” asked the Dwarf.

The scaled one pointed in the direction of my darkness spell, and the Dwarf followed with his gaze and squinted. 

The Elf perked up. “Oh yeah,” she said. “I’d nearly forgotten about him.”

“It’s easier to remember a person when they shoot you twice and nearly kill you,” the scaled one said. “Calisty, you speak his language. Get him to come out.”

I scowled. I had hoped that they’d forgotten about me, but it seemed that I wouldn’t be quite so fortunate.

“Hey, we don’t mean you any harm,” called the Elf. She spoke in Elven, but it was different from my own native tongue. Still, I could understand her well enough. “The dragon is dead, so there’s no reason for us to fight anymore. If you don’t wish to harm us, then we won’t harm you and will take you back to Drow lands, or anywhere else you’d like to go.”

I hesitated but then unloaded my crossbow, returning the bolt to my quiver and hanging the weapon at my side. It seemed that my only option would be to leave with these people and hope that they didn’t kill me in my sleep. However, if they really wanted to kill me, I’m sure they easily could have, even with my shadows and my trap. They had taken down BoneSigh, who, in spite of his small size, was an old and powerful white dragon. I would probably barely get a hit in on them.

“You coming out, or no?” the Elf called.

With my hands raised far from my weapons, I stepped out from my darkness and then dismissed it as a sign of good intentions. “I don’t wish to fight anymore,” I said in Elven. “My name is Killian of House Dura’mater, and I don’t care where I go as long as it’s not here.”

“My name’s Calisty,” said the Elf. She turned to her companions, introducing them in turn. “That’s Heskra,” she said, pointing at the one covered in red scales. “That’s Torav.” The Dwarf nodded as he heard his name. He had pulled out a flask and started to drink from it. I could smell the alcohol from where I stood. “The tall one over there is Kylarin, and the one by the dragon is Tivan.” 

I looked at Tivan. The name hadn’t exactly given me any further insight as to whether this individual was a man or a woman. As I watched, Tivan started to lay out strange trinkets and started to chant over the body. The voice was deep, and I felt I could safely assume this one was male.

“So, where are you headed, Killian?” Calisty asked.

“Anywhere,” I said. “I just want away from here. This dragon has kept me hostage as a bodyguard for quite some time, and all I want is to see the outside world again.”

“I see,” Calisty said. “Well, sorry about killing your spider. I know how important those things are to you guys.”

I tried to avoid any visible reaction. “Where are you from?” I asked. “I’m not used to seeing Elves traveling in the company of Dwarves.”

“Us? Ah, we aren’t from the island,” she replied. “Torav, Heskra, Kylarin, and Tivan are from the mainland, and I, well, I am too, but I was only there for a short while. Before that, I came from the Feywild.”

“Mainland?” I wanted to also ask about this Feywild place, the fact that she had called this other place the mainland was jarring. It implied something huge, bigger than these lands I had been born and raised on.

“Yeah. There’s been travel between Elara and the mainland for months now. Exactly how long have you been cooped up in this mountain?”

“I’ve been counting my time here in years, and even then, I’ve lost track of it,” I answered. “I didn’t even know there were was anything past the Five Storms.”

“Five Storms?” Calisty blinked at me in confusion. 

“They’re gone now,” Kylarin said in Elven. I glanced at her, hiding my surprise than a non Elf spoke my language. Then, to Calisty, she added in Bronzeman, “they were a swirling mass of magical energies that kept this place isolated from the mainland. They’ve been here since before I arrived on the mainland and have remained until recently.”

“Ah,” Calisty said. “Well, that explains why I didn’t know about it. I didn’t get here until recently.”

“The Five Storms are gone?” I asked. “Are you sure?” I also wanted to ask Kylarin how she knew my language and why it seemed like she was older than I was. I glanced at her ears, wondering if she was actually an Elf, but they were short and rounded like a Bronzeman’s.

“Something tells me you’re going to be surprised by a lot more than that,” Calisty said. “A lot has been going on.”

“And most of it seems to have been caused by the disappearance of the Five Storms,” added Kylarin in Elven.

Tivan finished casting whatever he had been working on and then took a pouch from his waist. Opening it as wide as it could go, he shoved BoneSigh’s foot inside of it. I almost said something, but I was mesmerized by the fact that, slowly, BoneSigh’s body was enveloped by the bag, which still appeared to be empty by the time he finished. 

“Now we have something good for that science consortium back in Mechtropolis,” Tivan said as he tied the pouch back at his waist. “Considering how much they gave me for a few scales and a tooth, we’re going to make a killing on this.”

“I guess all that’s left is to split up the treasure,” Heskra said. She went over and began to sort through the pile of items and coins that BoneSigh had horded. I hesitated a moment and then went to collect my own belongings. Suddenly, everything I owned looked old and worn. My blanket and bedroll had been of decent quality, and they were now old and filled with holes. I wondered exactly how long I had been here.

“Who’s your friend, Calisty?” Tivan asked as he seemed to finally notice me. His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down.

“His name’s Killian,” Calisty said excitedly. “He’s going to join us for a while.”

Her tone was the same as a young Drow bringing home their first pet lizard. I suddenly had the bad feeling that I had gone from belonging to a dragon to belonging to these strange outsiders.


	5. Chapter 5

I hadn’t been wrong. I was indeed little more than a pet to them. Still, at least I was better cared for than I had been while under BoneSigh’s watch. 

After leaving the Whitefire Mountains, we had traveled west toward the Mechtropolis. However, we ended up skirting around the lake it was situated in and instead crossed a bridge over the river to the south before continuing on the way to Dacinia. 

“I thought you had business in the Mechtropolis,” I said once I’d realized the detour.

“We do,” Tivan said. “However, they’re currently at war, and the city is closed.”

“Who’d go to war with the Contraptionists?” I asked. 

Calisty laughed, and Tivan snorted in amusement before answering. “The Drow, actually,” he respomded.

I asked then if we could pass closer to the lake that surrounded the Mechtropolis, and it was exactly as they had said. House Arachni and House Dura’mater flags flew high on Drow warships, which pelted the high walls of the Mechtropolis with canon fire and magic while the Contraptionists within returned fire with power pellets dropped from flying machines and fired from launchers held by Sentients lined along the damaged walls.

“They’re really going at it still,” Kylarin commented. “I would’ve thought that things might’ve started to die down by now.”

I shook my head. “This is still hard to believe,” I said. “It’s a great effort for our ships to travel this far, and the Contraptionists usually keep to themselves and don’t trouble anyone. What led to this?”

“There’s a spider shortage that the Drow were trying to remedy with mechanical spiders commissioned from Mechtropolis,” Kylarin said. “However, the mechanical spiders killed many of the surviving natural spiders, and the Contraptionists weren’t about to give a refund.”

“Ah,” I said, acting as though the answer had satisfied my questions when it had actually just brought more to mind.

We watched a while longer before continuing our journey to Dacinia. It had been a long time since I had last visited. I had only passed through when I had fetched my spider when I'd come of age, and I'd only stayed one night before heading home. But once we arrived, the band I had joined was greeted warmly. It seemed they had been here before and helped out the local with a few tasks. The party bought me a hot meal and a drink, and I savored both. The trail rations they had shared with me during our travels had been several steps up from the scraps of raw meat that BoneSigh would toss to me and expect me to cook myself. In comparison to the trail rations, however, this meal was the food of royalty. The drink I took more time with partially because I hadn’t consumed alcohol in years, and I worried my tolerance may have taken a hit. Thankfully, there was a Dwarf among us to finish what I couldn’t, and Torav seemed more than grateful for my inability to finish.

At a nearby table sat three young Drow – two women and one man – conversing in low tones and occasionally glancing in our direction. I noticed that their clothing styles placed them in House Arachni. Calisty eventually noticed as well, and she stood and waved for me to join her. I did so and we walked over to their table together in spite of Kylarin hissing “Calisty, no,” and trying to snatch Calisty’s arm as she passed. 

The three Drow looked up at us. I stood behind Calisty and shifted uncomfortably as the woman who seemed to be of the highest rank at the table eyed me with a smirk. “Aren’t you a bit old to be going after a spider?” she asked.

I said nothing. I didn’t want to explain my situation, nor had I been openly invited to speak. 

“He already got a spider,” Calisty said. “And you better watch who you talk about, because my table over there is tasked to clear out those bugbears from your precious Spider Forest, so if you want us to actually follow through, you should learn some respect.”

The Drow woman glared in response. “We could take care of it ourselves,” she snapped.

“I’m sure,” Calisty replied. “That’s why you’re pouring so much of your resources into robots and wars.”

The Drow woman tsked her tongue dismissively and turned her attention away from Calisty.

Looking proud, Calisty turned and headed back toward the table. I followed reluctantly. I had wanted to speak more to those Drow about the state of my homeland, but now, there was no hope of that. Of course, there hadn’t been much hope of that in the first place. When I had left, Arachni was the most powerful of the houses, and I was sure that my disappearance had marked me as dead or a deserter. Either way, that left me stripped of any rank, which left me unable to speak to those three, who were clearly high enough ranked to go out and find a spider.

“So, what should we do next?” Heskra was saying as we returned. 

“Not the bugbears, that’s for damn sure,” Calisty said. She flumped back down into her chair. I returned to my seat beside her – she had insisted that we sit together – and tried to hide my disappointment. I'd been hoping we might continue west and stop by the Spider Forest so I could pick out a new mount.

“We could always head back up to Pardis,” said Kylarin. “I’m sure Feleo or Ghlata has some errand or another they need us to run.”

“Sounds good,” Calisty said with a nod. “We could get Killian some new stuff while we're in Pardis, since we've got that ongoing discount there. I'll pass on Ghlata, though. I don't miss that little shit.”

“Well, we need to pass through his neck of the woods to get to Pardis anyway,” Tivan said. “Also, his tasks are pretty easy, and he pays well.” He pulled a clear, shimmering crystal from his pocket. In the core of this strange stone, something dark and ominous coiled smokily. “I wouldn't mind getting my hands on another one of these.” He tossed it into the air and the rest of the table flinched. He snatched it as it fell with his other hand and returned it to a pocket, the grin on his covered face only visible in his eyes.

We finished our meals and paid for rooms for the night. Calisty shared her space with me, and I accepted, taking the second bed in the room. 

I had thought that finally being in a proper bed would be comfortable and relieving, but somehow, it was hard to fall asleep. When I eventually drifted off, my sleep was light, restless, and haunted with images of BoneSigh.


End file.
